Gospel of Jesus

We know Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, but what was the gospel of Jesus? “The message is intense and simple . . . a valuable addition to the Jesus canon.” —Booklist

Is it possible to know what Jesus’s original audience heard as “the good news?” Jesus’s gospel has been lost from sight, hidden behind the version preferred by the church. In The Gospel of Jesus, James M. Robinson, acclaimed expert on early Christian studies, gets to the true historical message of Jesus. The Gospel of Jesus draws on a combination of the most ancient and authentic texts to reveal what Jesus really said and to illuminate what he may still have to say to us today.

Robinson not only reconstructs the good news Jesus preached and practiced two thousand years ago, but also shows how relevant that message still is—and how we can apply it to our lives. The Gospel of Jesus offers one of the most authentic and stirring accounts ever written of the message preached by Christ.

“A dramatic account of the original messages of Jesus of Nazareth, before honorific titles were applied to him and dogmatic statements were formulated about him . . . a book of wisdom, insight, and passion.” —Marvin Meyer, author of The Gnostic Gospels of Jesus

“The distillation of a distinguished career devoted to the exploration of Christian origins . . . a succinct account of what the historical Jesus taught. Robinson’s reconstruction of ‘Q,’ the sayings source underlying Matthew and Luke, provides the script on which he builds his judicious—and moving—portrait of Jesus.” —Harold Attridge, Dean, Yale Divinity School